VOA标准英语2016--尼日利亚兴起天然护发运动

Natural Hair Care Movement Takes Root in Nigeria 尼日利亚兴起天然护发运动

ABUJA—

In Nigeria, activists² and entrepreneurs are promoting natural ways for black women to care for their hair amid concerns that some commonly used products like dyes and relaxers may actually be dangerous and lead to health problems.

This may look like a typical hair salon³ in Abuja. But it’s not.

“We specialize in maintaining and taking care of the natural hair. What the everyday people call the virgin⁴ hair, the hair that hasn’t been relaxed, like the hair you were born with,” said Joye Ulekoikoni, manager of the Lumo Hair Salon.

At the Lumo Hair Salon, hairdressers use natural-based ingredients and avoid using heat on the hair of their clients. Heat can dry or damage hair.

“One of the reasons why this salon came up is because people had a lot of issues taking care of their natural hair,” said Ulekoikoni.

Hair is big business in Nigeria. Beauty stores display a wide range of hair products mainly imported from the United States. But some of the ingredients in these kinds of products are coming under scrutiny⁵.

Health concerns

In a new report, Black Women for Wellness, an NGO based in Los Angeles, compiled five years of research and says that chemicals used in some hair products are linked to uterine fibroids in black women and girls. Products including relaxers, shampoos and hair dyes are mentioned in the study as containing toxic⁶ ingredients.

The World Health Organization has warned that hairdressers may be routinely exposed to cancer-causing chemicals. But the American Cancer Association says studies have not found a strong link between cancer and hair products and recommends more research.

In 2011, a health agency of the U.S. Department of Labor⁷ found that some “hair smoothing” products may release unsafe levels of formaldehyde, which is toxic.

Dr. Oluwakemi Osunderu, an ethnopharmacologist, has been doing her own research, conducting a poll asking Nigerian women about the experiences with synthetic⁸ hair products. She says common complaints are hair loss and burns on the scalp.

She says black women are more at risk because they tend to use hair products frequently over a longer period of time and therefore have higher exposure levels to the chemicals.

“You find some harmful products in them like the thalates and the parabens. These have been linked to cancer, especially breast cancer,” she said.

Going natural 

Enter the natural hair movement. Natural hair activists gathered together at the first African Hair Summit in Abuja.

“It’s health first, then beauty or fashion,” said Lotanna Egwuatu, a natural hair activist¹.

Locally manufactured products made with natural ingredients like pure shea butter and coconut⁹ oil were on display. And while interest may be growing, these products are still far from mainstream¹⁰ in Nigeria.

1 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

2 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 salon   

n.[法]沙龙；客厅；营业性的高级服务室

参考例句：

• Do you go to the hairdresser or beauty salon more than twice a week?你每周去美容院或美容沙龙多过两次吗？
• You can hear a lot of dirt at a salon.你在沙龙上会听到很多流言蜚语。

4 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

5 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

6 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

7 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

8 synthetic   

adj.合成的，人工的；综合的；n.人工制品

参考例句：

• We felt the salesman's synthetic friendliness.我们感觉到那位销售员的虚情假意。
• It's a synthetic diamond.这是人造钻石。

9 coconut   

n.椰子

参考例句：

• The husk of this coconut is particularly strong.椰子的外壳很明显非常坚固。
• The falling coconut gave him a terrific bang on the head.那只掉下的椰子砰地击中他的脑袋。

10 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。